Those who repeatedly aired objectionable show equally cognisable: SIC

ISLAMABAD: Chairman Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) Sahibzada Hamid Raza has said causing any harm to journalists, damaging the media houses or destroying their property was not at all allowed either by the Shariah or the law.

“We have no concern with those who are spreading incendiary sentiments against the working journalists/media persons. It is Allah Almighty alone Who knows what someone has in his heart. By adopting peaceful means, we have approached the Supreme Court of Pakistan. It will be the Supreme Court that will decide what was behind the sordid episode, whether deliberate or unintentional. Any channel or website that has committed such disrespect is culpable,” he said while addressing a press conference at the National Press Club. He declared that to repeatedly air the controversial matter was equally cognisable.

President PFUJ Afzal Butt, president NPC Sheharyar Khan and president RIUJ Ali Raza Rizvi were also present on the occasion.Sahibzada Hamid Raza said that the role of journalists could not be ignored. “Whatever the situation, the journalists have always played their effective role in an effective manner. No journalist was involved in the disrespectful show in the morning transmission of Geo, therefore the journalists, media-workers, DSNG vehicles and offices of channel establishments should not be damaged.” He said that they had knocked on the door of the court and this matter should be resolved in the courts and not on the roads.

To a question, he said had there been no delay of 36 hours, the question of issuing a Fatwa would have had never arisen. He said any other channel airing the disrespectful show again was culpable as the first one.

He said that they had issued the ‘fatwa’ first against the suicide killings that was corroborated by the Mufti-e-Azam, Saudi Arabia. Speaking on the occasion, Afzal Butt said that they were not a party to the war between the media houses. “However, we can never tolerate disrespect to the Ahle Bait.” He said in the current crisis, more than 35 media persons had been attacked. “An attempt was made to put two houses on fire. In order to cope with such a situation, the PFUJ has initiated a dialogue with scholars of different schools of thought.”

He said that working journalists are labourers who work with their pens and they have absolutely no hand in the formulation of the policies of media houses. “Therefore, any conspiracy to target them would be condemnable.”